Mask
20th century
Object PlaceLiberia
Medium/TechniqueWood, nails, fur, earth or pigment encrustation
DimensionsOverall: 29 x 16 x 13 cm (11 7/16 x 6 5/16 x 5 1/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2599
On View
Not on viewClassificationsMasks
Collections
This mask may have been used during Poro initiation ceremonies. Practiced among many groups throughout the West African forest region, the Poro initiation society was responsible for transforming male children into men. It is said that the the Poro spirit "eats" young boys and then spits them back out as men.
ProvenanceGeneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
